Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a data query system. Specifically, the invention is related to a method and apparatus for a guided query system for multi-dimensional storage structures.
Background
Current analytics applications attempt to provide easy access to analytic information. These applications get their data from transactional systems through a process involving extraction, transformation and loading. In this process, transaction data is collected, cleaned, codified and reorganized and loaded by the analytic application to generate reports and analysis. However, current analytic applications have many significant drawbacks.
To obtain specific analytic information or data when the user is not aware of a pre-defined report or search for this data, a user of an analytic program must navigate a series of user interfaces to find the data necessary to answer their questions. This navigation of the available data is tedious and time consuming for the user. The navigation process diminishes the productivity of the user due to the extensive trial and error required to find the necessary data. These navigations lack any structure or guidance to assist the user in finding the necessary data for generating concrete analysis.
Other database searching procedures and functions are unsuited or inefficient for the purposes of identifying specific analytic information where pre-defined searches or reports are not known to the user. Traditional search engines that allow the entry of English questions generate non-deterministic results and lack focus due to the difficulty of parsing the user's intent from the input of the English language text. To obtain deterministic results strictly defined codes or commands must be utilized. Even if English language phrases are correlated to these codes or commands in place of esoteric programming language commands or codes, the user is required to understand the details of the data structure being queried and to understand the semantics and syntax necessary for the use of the commands and codes to construct precise queries using these commands, codes and knowledge of the data structure. Hybrids of these systems have not significantly mitigated these drawbacks.